Rolled up and ready: Duck Tape is the prom fashion of choice for two senior Seahawks

Published: Thursday, April 18, 2013 at 02:27 PM.

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While others will be arriving at prom Saturday night dressed to the nines in satin, lace or tulle, one couple will be decked out in Duck Tape.

Senior Seahawks, Rachel White and Spencer Molenda, have been working since January on their Duck Tape prom attire for South Walton High School as part of the "Stuck at Prom Scholarship" contest. Winners of the Duck Tape contest can win $5,000 each as well as $5,000 for their school.

The two had kicked around the idea for the last couple of years.

"I think it started about 10th grade, right after we started dating," Rachel said. "We realized we liked doing outside the box stuff."

And after passing on it for a couple of years, the time had come — to tape or not to tape?

"It's our senior year; we may as well do something crazy ..." Rachel said.

While others will be arriving at prom Saturday night dressed to the nines in satin, lace or tulle, one couple will be decked out in Duck Tape.

Senior Seahawks, Rachel White and Spencer Molenda, have been working since January on their Duck Tape prom attire for South Walton High School as part of the "Stuck at Prom Scholarship" contest. Winners of the Duck Tape contest can win $5,000 each as well as $5,000 for their school.

The two had kicked around the idea for the last couple of years.

"I think it started about 10th grade, right after we started dating," Rachel said. "We realized we liked doing outside the box stuff."

And after passing on it for a couple of years, the time had come — to tape or not to tape?

"It's our senior year; we may as well do something crazy ..." Rachel said.

Wednesday afternoon the couple was putting the finishing touches on their outfits.

"Right now we roughly have 25 rolls maybe ... give or take two or three rolls," Rachel said. "We have a pile of cardboard tubes that we're trying to keep track of, but we've lost a few."

In just Spencer's pants alone, it took about three-and-a-half rolls to make.

His vest, which is light teal with a black lace, took one roll and two Duck Tape sheets for the design.

Rachel's face lit up as Spencer tried on the tux attire with the white shirt for the first time Wednesday afternoon.

"I'm so excited," she said.

"It's kind of difficult getting into it," Spencer added, as he contorted his body to put on the coat.

"I look like a race car driver getting ready to start," he said. "Actually it's warm, but it's not that uncomfortable to be honest."

The first piece the couple decided to make was Rachel's dress.

"We bought a dress at Ross," she said. "We put it on me and covered it in Duck Tape, then we realized I couldn't get out of it. So we had to cut me out of it and then start from scratch again."

The couple started collecting tape for the project back in January. They had even asked Santa Claus for Duck Tape for Christmas.

"Our very first sketch was crazy," Rachel said. "It was like rainbow colors and zebra, but as we went on, we decided we wanted to go with sophisticated and realistic looking. We wanted colors that you would actually see at prom.

The couple has put in between 50 and 100 man-hours on the design of their attire.

"If you were to pay us minimum wage for all the hours we have in it, that would be a lot of money," Rachel said.

The two have paid anywhere from $3.99 to $5 for the rolls of tape, depending on the type, color and where they bought it.

"We've spent well over a $100, but in all honesty, it's not that bad considering what you would spend on prom," Rachel said.

Last year the couple spent about $300 for traditional clothing. This year they are looking at about $150 for both outfits, including accessories such as shoes, handbag, wallet and flowers — all made of Duck Tape.

The couple can’t wait to get dressed for the big night, but they recognize it will be a challenge.

"He can't bend down," Rachel said.

"I can't touch my toes," Spencer said while wearing his pants. "It fits like a glove."

But he can do a mean "robot" and "moon walk" in the attire.

"We plan to go as long as we can (in the outfits), if we don't die of heat stroke," Spencer said.

Rachel said they would probably bring along a nice change of clothes for the last hour, "but we're going to try and make it the whole time."

"We're going to bring a lot of deodorant," Spencer said.

Standing back and looking at Spencer decked out in his Duck Tape tux, Rachel said, "I think he looks pretty darn sharp ... I'd date you, I'll take you to prom."